LET GAMES BEGIN

There was a visible recoiling from Gold Coast cycling medal hope Jack Carlin when it was put to him yesterday that he could be Scotland’s successor to Chris Hoy, as he sat in the Glasgow Velodrome that takes the name of the multigold Olympian.

Yet the Paisley-born 21-yearold could only be a matter of weeks away from emulating Hoy in one notable sense. Across his glittering career, the now children’s author acquired a medal haul that would even put the collection of a North Korean general in the shade. However, Hoy only claimed one individual gold when representing Scotland in the Commonwealth Games.

The fact that Carlin’s burgeoning track prowess brought him the silver medal in the men’s sprint at the World Championships held in Holland’s Apeldoorn only three weeks ago means he can surely be considered firmly in contention for gold in Australia. Carlin certainly sees Hoy as a figure to be more than celebrated.

“Chris Hoy inspired a lot of people and inspired me personally,” he said. “His race was one of the few cycling events I watched at London 2012

“Representing Team Scotland is something I’ve always wanted to do since watching Glasgow 2014 four years ago”

JACK CARLIN